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Questions and Answers
What was the main purpose of the annual festival of City Dionysia?
What was the main purpose of the annual festival of City Dionysia?
What was the role of the 'Choregus' in the City Dionysia festival?
What was the role of the 'Choregus' in the City Dionysia festival?
What was the name of the first actor, according to Greek drama history?
What was the name of the first actor, according to Greek drama history?
How many days did the City Dionysia festival last?
How many days did the City Dionysia festival last?
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What type of play was introduced in 487 BCE at the City Dionysia festival?
What type of play was introduced in 487 BCE at the City Dionysia festival?
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What was the name of the form of dance and song that eventually led to the development of drama?
What was the name of the form of dance and song that eventually led to the development of drama?
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What was the name of the festival where comedy merged with the theatre of Dionysus at Athens?
What was the name of the festival where comedy merged with the theatre of Dionysus at Athens?
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What was the purpose of the Ekkyklema, a theatrical device used in ancient Greek theatre?
What was the purpose of the Ekkyklema, a theatrical device used in ancient Greek theatre?
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Which playwright introduced a second actor and created dialogue between the first and second actors?
Which playwright introduced a second actor and created dialogue between the first and second actors?
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What was the title of Aristotle's critical work on drama?
What was the title of Aristotle's critical work on drama?
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What is the name of the play where Oedipus is the main character?
What is the name of the play where Oedipus is the main character?
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What is the name of the device used to show characters in flight above the earth in ancient Greek theatre?
What is the name of the device used to show characters in flight above the earth in ancient Greek theatre?
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What is the term for the choral song at the end of each episode in a Greek tragedy?
What is the term for the choral song at the end of each episode in a Greek tragedy?
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What is the name of the oracle that predicts Oedipus' fate in the play Oedipus of King?
What is the name of the oracle that predicts Oedipus' fate in the play Oedipus of King?
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Study Notes
Greek Drama
- Emerged in 534 B.C.E. in Athens, the first recorded theatre
- Associated with the city-state, art, literature, and democracy
Peisistratus and the City Dionysia
- Peisistratus dominated Athens from 560-510 B.C.E.
- He improved social conditions, promoted art, and established/enlarged festivals
- The City Dionysia was a major festival in Athens, a celebration of Dionysus
- It was a 7-day festival in late March to early April, featuring:
- Day 1: Procession of Dionysus' statue
- Day 2: Dithyramb competition (10 choruses)
- Day 3: Comic contest (introduced in 487 B.C.E.)
- Day 4-6: Play competition (3 tragedies + 1 satyr play in the morning, 1 comedy in the late afternoon)
- Day 7: Closing ceremony and prize-giving
The Theatre of Dionysus
- The theatre consisted of:
- Skene (backstage)
- Parodos (entrance)
- Orchestra (performance area)
- Altar
- Thymele
- Theatrons (seating)
Theatrical Devices
- Ekkyklema (wheeled platform): revealed a tableau of action that took place off-stage
- Deux ex Machina (floating machine): used to show characters in flight or above the earth
Playwrights
- Aeschylus (525-426 B.C.E.):
- Wrote 70-90 plays (7 survived)
- Won 13 times 1st place
- Reduced the chorus from 50 to 12
- Introduced the second actor
- Sophocles (496-406 B.C.E.):
- Wrote 100-200 plays (7 survived)
- Won 24 times 1st place
- Increased the chorus size from 12 to 15
- Introduced the third actor
- Euripides (484-c. 406 B.C.E.):
- Wrote 90 plays (19 survived)
- Won 4 times 1st place
- Won again after death
Aristotle
- Wrote 2 critical plays: Rhetoric and Poetics
- The Poetics had a great influence on later school of criticism
- Divided into 2 parts: Tragedy and Comedy
Oedipus of King
- Written in 430-428 B.C.E.
- Characters:
- Oedipus (Main character)
- Priest
- Creon (Oedipus's wife brother)
- Chorus
- Teiresias (blind)
- Jocasta (mother and wife of Oedipus)
- A messenger from Corinth
- Shepherd
- Attendant
- Background:
- Delphic Oracle: "Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother"
- Riddle of the Sphinx: "What walks on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?" Answer: Human
- Plague on Thebes
- Oedipus' prosecution of Laius' murderer
- The Fall of Oedipus:
- Movement from "ignorance" to "knowledge"
- When he is "blind" to the truth, he has his sight; when he achieves full understanding, he blinds himself
- Structure of tragedy:
- Prologue: the opening scene
- Parodos: The entrance of the chorus
- Episode: Development of the plot through action and dialogue between actors
- Stasimon: The choral song at the end of each episode, commenting on what happened and giving hints
- Exodos: The final action after the last stasimon
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Description
This quiz covers the history of Greek drama, particularly in 534 B.C.E, and the cultural significance of theatre in ancient Athens. It also explores the role of Peisistratus in promoting art and improving social conditions.
